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The Last Supper

 

At training camp I was deep in prayer… we were praying over one another and building each other up with the words the Lord gave to us. Suddenly I heard the sound of digging… at first I could only see rocks and a little mud, it was like I was zoomed in on a camera… the vision started getting bigger and I could vividly see a man shoveling and I was helping him. It didn’t make sense. I asked God, “what does this mean?” He told me to “wait and see.”

Fast forward a couple of weeks. The culture here is very “pura vida..” very laid back. No one is in a hurry or has plans past tomorrow. The pastor we have been working with has done a fantastic job of finding ministry opportunities we can participate in, but when we arrived in Costa Rica we really only knew the plan a few days at a time, if that.

After a week of being in Costa Rica we are informed that we would be going to the North of the country upon returning from the jungle in the south of the country. We had no idea where we would be staying, what we would be doing, or what the accommodations would look like..

A day before we were scheduled to leave we were informed we would be helping build a church. At the time I thought we would just be building a church literally.

When we arrived in Santa Cruz and stepped off our bus hot and sweaty… we walked to the church we would help to build through a labor of love. We walked down the narrow streets, across a rickety metal bridge, down a dirt path and up to the gates of the soon to be beautiful church. As we sat under the pavilion (where the church currently meets) we were separated into host families and told that a group of ladies from the church would prepare three meals for us a day so we could focus on our work. I almost broke down and cried. We have been preparing our meals this entire month and working our tails off every day. It meant the world.

We were more than just missionaries coming to help build a church… we were family. The warmth and love that we experienced from our host families was unreal. They became our moms and dads, brothers and sisters, cousins… they felt like blood relatives.. they made us feel at home. They worried about us like their own children and loves us in an unexplainable way. They worked along side us, cooked for us, cleaned for us, spent every day with us, transported us, forced us to rest and go to the beach. They painted, shoveled and leveled dirt and rock, welded, sanded, and moved heavy rocks with us… every single day.

We’ve had to say goodbye a lot on this trip. First we stayed in Heredia in the mountains and had to say “see you later” to our beloved pastor Edgar, then we stayed with metro ministries in San Jose and traveled with them to do ministry in the jungle, then we stayed at creo church with pastor Rey and although it was only a few days-his family became our family… we weren’t prepared for our final goodbye

THE LAST SUPPER

This is how dinner typically goes. Angela (our director and translator in Santa Cruz) normally yelled “dinner is ready,” and we all loudly formed a line to get food and a beverage.

The night of the 25th was different. Angela approached our table after team-time.. she was quiet. “Well guys, this is your last supper with us.. tonight, we will serve you. Don’t worry about getting anything.”

She then asked us to make two lines of chairs facing each other. Pastor José had a lot to say to us. His heart was heavy. At church on Sunday we talked a lot about living a Holy Spirit led life. We studied Romans 8 together. Pastor José told us that as we leave to go back home we are taking a piece of his heart with us.. although we come from different countries, we serve the same God… and we are joined by the same Spirit, and that spirit connects us on the deepest level possible.

He told us that all week he had seen the joy and love of the Lord shine bright through all we had done, even when we were tired and felt like we couldn’t scoop another shovel of dirt or swing the hoe one more time… he saw Jesus in all of us. He gave us examples of how the Spirit has used him in crazy ways and that through the Spirit we are capable of doing the impossible.

He told us a story of a woman who was possessed by a demon. She was involved in black magic and demonic practices.. he wasn’t rooted in his faith at the time, but he believed in God. He asked the lady to write what she was feeling if she couldn’t speak… she started writing and the words turned into violent scribbles. He waited and then he asked her to try again. She drew a picture of the devil with horns. He didn’t know how to preform and exorcism. He had only seen the movie the exorcist. He began saying the rosary and the demons laughed. He then said the Lord’s Prayer and the demons fled. They came out of her one by one- all seven of them.

There is power in the spirit of God. There is power in his Spirit. We all have spiritual gifts, but we don’t always know that we are capable.

Pastor José began to speak of the last supper. He read John 13.

“Jesus knew that the Father had put him in complete charge of everything, that he came from God and was on his way back to God. So he got up from the supper table, set aside his robe, and put on an apron. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the feet of the disciples, drying them with his apron. When he got to Simon Peter, Peter said, “Master, you wash my feet?”

Jesus answered, “You don’t understand now what I’m doing, but it will be clear enough to you later.” Peter persisted, “You’re not going to wash my feet—ever!” Jesus said, “If I don’t wash you, you can’t be part of what I’m doing.” “Master!” said Peter. “Not only my feet, then. Wash my hands! Wash my head!” Jesus said, “If you’ve had a bath in the morning, you only need your feet washed now and you’re clean from head to toe. My concern, you understand, is holiness, not hygiene. So now you’re clean. But not every one of you.” (He knew who was betraying him. That’s why he said, “Not every one of you.”) After he had finished washing their feet, he took his robe, put it back on, and went back to his place at the table.

Jesus said, “If you’ve had a bath in the morning, you only need your feet washed now and you’re clean from head to toe. My concern, you understand, is holiness, not hygiene. So now you’re clean. But not every one of you.” (He knew who was betraying him. That’s why he said, “Not every one of you.”) After he had finished washing their feet, he took his robe, put it back on, and went back to his place at the table. Then he said, “Do you understand what I have done to you? You address me as ‘Teacher’ and ‘Master,’ and rightly so. That is what I am. So if I, the Master and Teacher, washed your feet, you must now wash each other’s feet. I’ve laid down a pattern for you. What I’ve done, you do. I’m only pointing out the obvious. A servant is not ranked above his master; an employee doesn’t give orders to the employer. If you understand what I’m telling you, act like it—and live a blessed life.”(John 13:3-17)

It was then that it hit me. The congregation we had been serving was now going to humble themselves and wash our feet. Pastor José told us that our feet had been through a lot. We had been to the mountains, the jungle, the city, and now we had been in the mud and dirt building the foundation of a church. He told us that our feet are important. We use them to carry out the work of the Lord and that no master is greater than his servant. Tears streamed down my face. Violent sobs were coming out of all of my team members as the worship music played and the congregation washed and oiled our feet. They prayed over us. They poured their hearts out to us. It was in that moment I felt complete peace. I felt numbed by the Holy Spirit. I could feel him so presently, it was tangible. It was then that I had the same vision I had at training camp. But this time, the camera lens zoomed out more and I couldn’t just see the pile of dirt, but everything my team had done-both spiritually and physically. I could see the walls of the church, the concrete pillars, the happy faces of the congregation and the inspiration we had left in their souls. It was then that I realized we weren’t just shoveling dirt and rocks to build the foundation of a church… we were building the church one soul at a time by how we poured our hearts out.

After the congregation finished and the music faded, there was an overwhelming feeling of peace and love in the room. One by one each church member expressed what an impact we had on their lives… they have been working on their church building for three years, but I’m confident that they will finish the church in the next year or two. They are inspired to work hard and give God their everything, both in building the church and building the Kingdom.

Tears continued to flow as Angela asked if I had something to share. I had not asked to share but she knew something was on my heart. For a solid minute I could not speak. As I took a deep breath I managed to say “I have never experienced the love of the father in that way. I’ve never had anyone humble themselves enough to wash my feet. I wish I could have done more to help. I wish I could have worked harder. Thank you for all the love you’ve shown us and for breaking barriers like you did tonight.”

The congregation told us that we will always have a big family in Costa Rica.. that we will always have them and that we are always welcome in their homes. In the U.S. I feel like we say “you’re always welcome to stay with us,” so passively… but they meant it through the tears… and they meant it when they said “te amo.”

I’ve never experienced the love of the Father like that and I want everyone to know what that feels like. To have total strangers offer to let 3-5 Americans stay in their homes the day before we arrived. To have people who do not have the funds to build their church, give us everything they have to give… their love, their resources, their time, their homes, their hearts… or when a member of the church worked with us for an afternoon and saw we were struggling to make the 30 minute walk home in the heat and gave us a ride… that’s the Father’s love. We came to serve, but we were served in the process… and that’s priceless.

I’m bad at goodbyes, so this is just “see you later” Santa Cruz.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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